Boat.



W. T. URIE.

BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1909.

Patented Nov. 9. 1909.

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W. T. URIE.

BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 1909.

\ lv ytmcoaeo W. T. URIE.

BOAT. APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1909.

Patented Nov. 9. 1909.

3 SEIETS-SHEET 3.

witnesses /ZI MM X -5'-!- i-M A WILLIAM T. URIE, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

Apfilitfhtion filed May 28, 1909. Serial No. 498,989.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknowh that I, WILLIA TtTr URIE, of Kansas City, county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented a new a'nd useful Improvement in Boats, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to'boats, and particularly to devices and operating mechanisms therefor fgr propelling and controlling the movements thereof.

The object of the invent on is to provide a'boat which shall be'of lightdraft and in which propelling means of great power may be embodied, and which may be economically operated, and particularly in streams which, though exceedingly shallow, have-a swiftly moving currenbwhich renders the control of the boat and the landing thereof quite difficult. hiloreover,'the turning of the boat in anarrow swiftly-running stream is by the mechanisms embodied inthe boat rendered possible.

With this and other objects in view, the invention consists in various novel construe tions, combinations and arrangement of parts, all as will more fully appear hereafter.

In the accompanying drawings :lf1gure 1 1s a View in side elevation of a boat in which the several features of my improve: 'ment are embodied. Fi 2 is a top plan view thereof showing particularly therelative position of the plurality of propelling wheels and independent engines for driving the same. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective of one of the propelling wheels. showing lparticularly the form of the buckets carried t ereby. Figsxl, 5 and 6 are views, respectively, in front and side elevation and in section (on line 6-.6, Fig. 5) of a spud and the mechanism for operating the same, employed in controlling certain movements of the boat. Figs. 7 and 8 are views in side elevation and inbottom plan of a boat-spar 45 which is also employed in'connection with effecting movement of the boat.

'In these drawings, the numeral 1 designates the boat proper which, in this instance, is of, the light draft class that is now largely used}: shallow rivers and which, by reason pf sit h shallowness, cannot be of deep draft.. -i n c I.

'plnrafity of elements'for effecting movement Specificationof Letters Fatent.

sequence of this fact and the further ..-fact at the current of such rivers is 'fre-.

Patented Nov. 9,1909.

which may be of the well known compound condensing type. Y Each pair of' the oppositely disposed wheels'is mounted on a' transverse wheelshaft 7, the same carrying gearing which is operated by one or both of the adjacent driving engines 6, as shown in Fig. 2. The

shaft 7 preferably comprises two parts 8, 8.,

It will be understood that, by reason of the shaft being in two parts, each may be independently operated when it is necessary to rotate the propelling wheels in opposite directions, as in turning the boat.

The shafts may be connectedfor operation inunison by the clutch mechanism 9, which may be of any appropriate form, and the cooperating members of which may be con trolled by a lever 10, disposed adjacent to the; clutch mechanism. When the wheels of one or both pairs are operated in opposite directions, the turning o f the boat may be accomplished within a: space not greaterthan the length of the entii boat, and this whatever may be the direction or force of the cur rent.

prising a body portion 12, a right-angled portion 13, and sides 14, 14. -These buckets are disposed when in the water at an angle of about 90. By the peculiar form and po- Each of the propelling wheels is provided with a peculiarly shaped bucket 11, comsition of these buckets I secure a greater amount of power than usual, which in creased power is essential in navigating boats inthe shallow swiftly-running streams where my boat is to be used. This result follows from the fact that the buckets when in action obtain a better hold upon the water. In the ordinary form of plain paddle wheels, I have found that the water floats over the top of the paddles; but in my peculiar form of angle-buckets, a firmer hold on the water is obtained. Moreover, in view of the fact that these buckets operate with greater force in the water, they have a tendency to raise the boat up in the Water, .so that'the boatwill have less draft than otherwise.

As a furtherv means to be used in connection with the operation ofthe-boat, 1 provide the same at a point, preferably contiguous to each wheel box 15, with oscillatory spuds 16, the same comprising a vertically extending member (preferably square in cross section) and pointed at. its lower end so that it may easily penetrate into the sand or mud in the river-bed when being used as an anchor, as when it; desired to turn the boat, the spud holding it in position and serving as a pivot therefor while the wheels are being ope 'ated to turn the boat.

The spud, at. its lower portion, operates for its vertical movement, between two vertical plates 17, which, at their upper ends, are pivoted to a hinged member l8. 'l'hesc plates are housed within a casing 19, suitably secured to the sides of the boat. iifonntcd within the casii'ig, at the lower p0 'tion thercof, are strong coiled springs 20, one end thereof bearing against the inclined sides of the casing, and the other end hearing against; the lower portion of the vertical p ate ifi. jy this means, the spud is normally held in a. vertical position. When, however, the spud is lowered into the bed of the river while the boat is n1ovii1g, the cushion-springs 20 will relieve the strain which would otherwise be imposed upon the spud and the parts which support the same, because the spud will rock and cause the vertical plates l? to compress one or the other of the cushion-springs.

rtbave the casing ll) is a guide frame 21 consisting'of sides it, which, at their lower ends, are rounded for clearance. This frame is encircled by clips As will be seen by referring to Fig. -l-, the uppcrportion of the spud slides between the sides of the guide frame, and that the frame is so arranged that it will lll'lYt. with the spud when the same is rockcthas shown in dotted lines in this figure. As the lower ends of the sides of the frame would, during such rocking movement,Qstrikc against the upper portion of the casingll), they are rounded as already mentioned. As l'llLnC spuds are of more or less weight, it is desirable to provide mechanism by which. they may be operated with facility; and, to this end, I provide a power cylinder 23, which. by the clips 22, is secured to the upright frame 21, comprising the sides aforementioned. l'r'ithin the cylinder is a piston, the power to operate which may be supplied from any suitable source through a hose connection 2t, Fig; 5. .lrojecting upwardly from the piston is a connecting rod 25, to the upper end of which is secured a rope or cable 26, which passes over a pulley 27, and at its other end is attached to the spud toward its lower pointed end. The power for operating this spud actuating mechanism may be any desirable fluid under pressure, such as air, steam or the like. By this means, the spud may be lowered and 'aised with great facility. Whcn the spud is in its raised or normal position, it may be held by any. suitable device, such as a dog or the like (not shown).

It will'be understood that when the boat is to be anchored, the spud. is lowered to penetrate into the sand or mud of the riverhcd. The momentum of the boat would ordinarily produce a strain upon the spud :tnd its supporting parts. but by reason of tlucushioirdc\riccs already mentioned, this strain cntirciy relicrcd in both the spud and suppr riiug parts. l ly reason of the fact that the power cylinder 23 is supported an the fra :0 21, which frame is movable with the spud, all of these parts, the spud, the frame and the power device, will rock l' cn the spud. is forced into the inclined pthltltill illustrated in dotted lines ofl ig. at.

.\..s a 'l'urthcr means for effecting infreitllllt and control of the boat, I may provide on the bow of the boat one or more spars 28 win this instance, two being shown), the

same bring normally slidabie in rectangular hing: 2! formed in a projection 30, se cured to tile bow of the boat. Iii-the upper cud oi the spars 2S a pulley 31, over which passes a ia'ipe or cable 32, which, at one end, is attached to "the lower portion of the spar '28. as at .3 3, and at its other end passes over a pullcyirl and around a drum 35, which, may be operated in any preferred manner. (antiguous to the drum 35 is a second drum ltl for operating a rope or cable 3?, which also passes over the pulley ill; and a pulley and attached to the spur at 39. it wiilbe understood that one of the lines or ropes is for the purpose of lowering the spar while the other one is for raising the same into normal position, which, preferably, would be at an angle to the plane of the deck of the boat, s.) that the Spur will be as far out of the water as possible while the boat is moving through thewater.

The lower end of the spar is provided on each of its four sides with wings 40, which are hingedly connected to the spar and whose upwardmovement is limited by theangle-members 41, mounted on the sides of the spar. The PIOJCCtlDg edges 10 of the wings are curved upwardly, as shown in Fig. 7. When the spar is lowered and the wings are pushed against.- the sand or mud, they will engage the mud and be opened, their upward movement being limited by the angle-members 41; but when the spar is withdrawn from the mud or sand, into which the wings have penetrated, the latter will be forced downward into the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 7, so that the withdrawal of the spar from the-mud and its movement through the water are thus greatly facilitated. The curred edges 40 of the wings 40 will aid in operating the.

wings when they are moved downwardly through the water and into ,the mud. By

the mechanism provided for positioning the spa r, its easy and quick operation is rendered possible,whereby muchtiine is saved. In

this respect, I achieve results whicl enot the boat off of a sand-bar.

possible in the form of spar-operating means of the wings, a larger en aging surface is provided. The return of normal facility.

By the arrangement here provided of four independently operated wheels instead of the usual stern or side paddle wheels, the propulsion of the boat is greatly increased, the turning. of the same within a limited space is rendered possible, and by reason of having the wheels well forward in the boat, the latter can easilybe navigated, even Where the current is swift.' In the event that the boat runs upon a sand-bar, then -be brought into use and operated with the facility already mentioned; When it is desired to make a landing, or to turn the boat mid-stream, the spud may be dropped I the spar to its posltion is accomplished with equal into the river bottom while the boat is still in motion, and byreason of the cushioning devices herein described, the' danger of breaking the spud or strainin it and its supporting parts is overcome. i lhe peculiar form of buckets mounted on the wheels enables the same to operate in the water with a the spar may greater firmness and steadiness thanis possible with other constructions.

Having thus described my invention, what: .I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a light draft boat, the combination;

of four propelling wheels disposed impairs? fore and aft, a spar cooperating Wit'hlt e wheels to eifect movement of the boa't' ojiif and away from a sandbar, power means for operating the spar to lift the boat, anchoring spuds disposed contiguous to the propelling Wheels, and means for raising and lowering the spuds. 2. In a light draft boat, means for-propelling the same, comprising fo ir wheels disposed at each'side fore and jaft, independent engines for driving said wheels in either direction, a spar provided with -.-inovable wings at one end and mounted on one end of the boatiandiidapted to engage the river bottom and while the propelling wheels are rotating'to move the boat, mechanism for positioning the spar and actuating't-he same, oscillating spuds disposed contiguous to the propelling wheels, and cushioning devices disposed in relation to the spuds and adapted to cushion the same when oscillated.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand this 24th day of May, 1909, in the presence of two attesting witnesses.

WILLIAM T. URIE. 

